Dave Knows Portland

Tuesday Timbers Tidbits (05/17/2010)

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TimbersThe Portland Timbers go through a slump almost every season.

My hope is we have already witnessed the worst of it in 2010.

Saturday’s draw with AC St. Louis was disappointing (I think Kip Kesgard summed it up best with the headline: Timbers giveaway includes skate decks and two points), but the Timbers played much better than last Thursday.

Wednesday, the Timbers will have a chance to redeem themselves when the Montreal Impact visit. Let’s hope the boys regain their mojo, as it were. Montreal are a quality opponent.

Some would say the chant you see in the video below is the Best Timbers Army Change. Ever.

Some would disagree. And of course as with all things trivial or inconsequential, there is an epic argument on the internet about it.

In player news, KATU recently did a nice feature on Ryan Pore’s efforts to get back to the MLS (video here). And former Timbers goalkeeper Josh Saunders is profiled the LA Galaxy blog, The View from Victoria Street.

In the silly promotion, but for a good cause, department: The Portland Timbers are teaming up with Tropical Smoothie (1902 West Burnside) to concoct the official Portland Timbers smoothie.

The winning smoothie recipe will be available at Tropical Smoothie NW locations with $1 of every Timbers’ smoothie purchase going to the Portland Beavers & Portland Timbers Community Fund (PBPTCF), which donates more than $100,000 annually to youth-focused nonprofits in the greater-Portland area.

Visit the Timbers Facebook page for more info.

And lastly, in supporter news, this past Saturday marked the one year anniversary of the passing of legendary Timbers fan Harmut Bless, better known as Timber Howie. Read Lucas Grzybowski’s heartfelt homage to Howie from last year.

Tuesday Timbers Tidbits (04/27/2010)

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TimbersThe Portland Timbers went on their first road trip of the 2010 season this past weekend. They travelled to Quebec for poutine (possibly) and to face defending USL Division 1 champs, the Montreal Impact. Ryan Pore put the Timbers up 1-0 in the 67th minute with his fourth goal in three games, but Montreal, in their home opener, were gifted a late game penalty to salvage the 1-1 draw.

With the 2-0-1 start, the Timbers sit at the top of the USSF Division-2 standings, and the power rankings.

Thirsty Thursday, April 29th the Vancouver Whitecaps, also 2-0-1 and second in the power rankings, visit Portland for what looks to a fine early season battle.

Speaking of the early season, before Sunday’s match, Bob Kellett took a look at the first two matches of the season and concluded uncontroversially that we’ll know more about the Portland Timbers a week from now than we do at this moment. The draw at Montreal, I think, is an excellent sign.

In player news Tony McManus is volunteer super hero.  And in former player news, David Hayes, who played for the Timbers last year and then announced his retirement, looks to be giving it a go again in 2010, for the Carolina “Railhawks.”

In supporter news, the 107st board, aka the Council of XI, has been sworn in and has already gotten down to business; officers and committee chairs were elected at the meeting Sunday. And the membership count is up to 286.

Super supporter, Shawn Levy, talked Monday night with the folks at the soccer podcast It’s Called Football, about the Timbers Army, Portland one year out of MLS, getting their stadium finally on track and why Seattle still sucks. (Look for the episode published on April 26.)

Keeping Up With The Portland Timbers

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TimbersThe best way to keep you head above water in terms of Timbers news, rumors, and sundry related topics is to religiously reload threads on Talk Timbers, aka the Soccer City USA Message Board.

But if you’ve been following the board for a while, you may have noticed the wrong side of the signal to noise ratio is getting higher and higher, and becoming a barrier to actually extracting anything useful or interesting from the discussions.

I’m here to help.

Below you’ll find my tried and true tips and recommendations for staying on top of Timbers news:

SoccerCityUSA.com

The Timber Mill remains the best source for Timbers schedule information, team and player statistics, and historical data. Allison Andrews, the site creator and owner, also produces some of the best match recaps, and photo galleries.

Despite the extra effort required, you’ll still want to bookmark your favorite sections and threads at Talk Timbers, and occasionally load the most recent posts. Tip: use the following link to get the 25 most recent comments (but don’t reload too often; you don’t want to overload the server!): http://www.soccercityusa.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl?action=recent;display=25

Community and Social Networking

Join the 107 Independent Supporters’ Trust, aka 107ist.

Stay informed about Timbers fan activities and news with The Timbers Army. Join the Timbers Army Facebook group, and follow @TimbersArmy on Twitter (and check out the associated lists for other Timbers twitterers).

The Blogs

I recommend visiting these blogs daily:

Portland Timbers USL Blog at The Offside

Portland Timbers at Oregonlive

Dropping Timber Twitter: DroppingTimber

The Woodwork

And check Dave Knows Portland every Tuesday and Friday for the Tuesday Timbers Tidbits and the Portland Timbers Roundup, respectively, wherein I aggregate much of the recent Timbers news and info from the above blogs and more. I read all the blogs and set up Timbers google alerts and organize the results so you don’t have to!

The News

OregonLive.com can be difficult to navigate. Fortunately the editors aggregate all the Oregonian Timbers articles and OregonLive Timbers Blog entries on this page: www.oregonlive.com/Timbers

At 95.5 The Game, scroll to the bottom of the Strong At Night page to find The Strong Blog, which features plenty of Timbers content.

The official organ of the organization: PortlandTimbers.com is the best source for player news.

As far as local television station websites go, only KPTV seems to be aware of the existence of the Timbers. Find their stories here: www.kptv.com/Timbers/

The Timbers coverage at other TV stations, The Columbian, Portland Tribune, and the alt weeklies is sparse to nonexistent; if you’re looking for Timbers news, they aren’t worth checking daily (though this may change as the season gets under way and MLS approaches in 2011). If these news sources do publish something worthwhile, you’ll probably hear about it through the other resources listed here.

Portland Timbers Roundup (04/16/2010)

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TimbersThe Timbers open the 2010 season this Saturday at PGE Park. The Rochester Rhinos make their only visit to Portland season. Kickoff is 7pm.

So it is time for the season previews:

Someone has to say it by Bob Kellett at The Woodwork

I’d love to share an old story or two about the good old days when we used to play Rochester, but the fact is that for many years Rochester was able to control the league scheduling so that they never had to travel west of the Mississippi. Hence a dearth of good tales. But looking at their Rhino mascot, I can’t help but notice that it has a striking resemblance with Preston Burpo. [more]

Hoop Dreams by Dave Hoyt at The Woodwork

There is a palpable sense of excitement going into this season which is unlike any from seasons past. Players, management and fans all have butterflies in their stomachs, waiting to draw that last deep breath, before the final season of this iteration of the Timbers begins on Saturday. [more]

We’re Going To Win The Something, Something, Something by Lucas Grzybowski at The Woodwork

The cherry blossoms are blossoming, the Blazers are limping bravely into the playoffs (injuries, schminjuries!), the weather changes every five minutes from rain to sun to rain again, and sidewalk seating is starting to appear at bars and cafes around town. Do you know what that means? Spring is springing in the Rose City. And do you know what THAT means?

Timbers season is upon us! [more]

Portland Timbers: The past and the future provide motivation for 2010 team by Geoffrey C. Arnold at The Oregonian

The Portland Timbers begin their final season as a minor league franchise with an eye on the past and the future.

The Timbers, playing in the USSF Division 2 Pro League this season, would very much like to win a championship before the franchise joins Major League Soccer in 2011. Winning a title would not only erase the memory of coming up short last season, but also add to the team’s momentum going into next year. [more]

Fans gear up for MLS by Rick Curwen at OregonLive

Portland Timbers’ season opener against the Rochester Rhinos kicks off at 7 p.m. on Saturday and local soccer fans have much to look forward to, both off the pitch and on it. [more]

Timber 2010 season preview in four parts, by Kip Kesgard at OregonLive:

  1. Schedule and Coaching
  2. Friendlies, Opponents and Goalkeepers
  3. Defenders
  4. Midfielders

Portland Timbers 2010 USSF Season Preview by Kevin at Dropping Timber

Excitement is building. If you close your eyes you can feel it in the air, smell it. The Timbers are becoming harder to ignore. They’re on the sides of buses, on Max trains, and on billboards. You see them on fliers and posters, hear them talked about on the radio, or maybe even notice them pasted on the side of the Foosball table at your local bar. People in this city are starting to talk Timbers and for good reason. The Portland Timbers are about to show the world why this franchise and its amazing fan base have earned the moniker Soccer City USA. And that’s exciting. [more]

Timbers seek major exit by Paul Danzer at The Columbian

PORTLAND — Major League Soccer doesn’t arrive in Portland for another year. But the Portland Timbers aren’t waiting for 2011 to think big.

The team is planning international exhibitions against top-flight competition. It is hoping to make it’s mark in the U.S. Open Cup tournament. And, most of all, it wants to give its fans the franchise’s first championship. [more]

With 2011 fast approaching, we’re beginning to see interesting content at PortlandMLS2011.com, the official organ of the MLS Timbers.

Mayhem in the Rose City after 1975 playoff win over Sounders at PortlandMLS2011.com

Multiple videos posted from the 1975 playoff match between the North American Soccer League Seattle Sounders and Portland Timbers. The Timbers started off slowly that season at the gate, drawing just over 8,000 for their first home match. However, by the end of the year the stadium was packed. Meanwhile, Sounders FC were up north selling out every home match at expanded 18,000-seat Memorial Stadium. [more]

Wilkinson visits England on first MLS trip at PortlandMLS2011.com

PORTLAND, Ore. – As technical director of the Timbers Major League Soccer franchise, Gavin Wilkinson begins a week-long trip in England on Wednesday, where he will meet with multiple Premier League clubs and formally start scouting talent abroad. [more]

Wilkinson blogs from England at PortlandMLS2011.com

Today, I spent the day at the Chelsea’s training center (Cobham St.) and met with several people at Stamford Bridge.

It was incredible to say the least. They had the first team training on one part of the facility and a U-13 boy’s tournament on the other with teams from Arsenal, Charleton Athletic, Watford, etc. [more]

Meanwhile the official organ of the USL Timbers continues to keep us informed about the here and now:

Timbers name Adam Smith as club’s goalkeeper coach at PortlandTimbers.com

PORTLAND, Ore. – The Portland Timbers today named Adam Smith as the club’s goalkeeper coach for the 2010 season. Timbers head coach and general manager Gavin Wilkinson made the announcement. [more]

Marcelin recalled for Haiti National Team duty at PortlandTimbers.com

PORTLAND, Ore. – The Portland Timbers today announced that midfielder James Marcelin was recently named to the Haitian National Team’s 18-man roster for a friendly against Argentina on May 5 in Argentina. [more]

See you at the match!

Tuesday Timbers Tidbits (04/13/2010)

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TimbersUnless you’ve been living under a rock, you know the Portland Timbers begin the 2010 season at home this Saturday, April 17th at 7pm. The visitors are the Rochester Rhinos, who started the season last weekend with a draw against Miami FC.

In supporter news, the 107ist now has an elected board. This initial crop of board members will be instrumental in shaping the organization, and their work will continue to make the Portland Timbers fan experience more meaningful than that of a mere customer.

In Timbers news, Bob Kellett writes about The Young Guns at The Woodwork, and looks at whether there’s much possibility any or many of the 2010 Timbers will make the 2011 MLS roster.

At The Offside Timbers Blog, mao gives us a glimpse at a renovated PGE Park. And tells us that the team and fans are ready for the season to begin.

First Kip Kesgard catches up with the Timbers on the Portland Timbers blog at OregonLive. And then he analyzes the 2010 Timbers schedule and coaching, in part 1 of his season preview.

The Oregonian has begun doing a better job of covering the Timbers than in years past (clearly in anticipation of 2011 and MLS). Just this week Anne Saker has written about the Design goal for PGE Park’s MLS future. And Geoffrey C. Arnold examines some ways the MLS is working to attract more global stars.

And finally, a couple items in the self promotion department: Please read the 2010 Portland Timbers Primer, posted yesterday! I think there’s some very good information in there, both for the long time fan and the new. And, for the first time, one of my posts was used as a reference on a Wikipedia article – I’m legit!